From the French “laboratory” to Strasbourg: the vivre ensemble as an emerging legal principle in European religious law

Abstract

This essay traces the origins of vivre ensemble, from its philosophical and political foundations to its gradual incorporation into French law, and its subsequent adoption in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Through analysing the concept’s usage in French legislation and leading Strasbourg cases, the essay demonstrates how vivre ensemble currently operates as an ambivalent argumentative category. On the one hand, it is a new legal criterion aimed at preserving social cohesion. On the other hand, it is a vague and potentially selective notion capable of justifying generalised restrictions on religious freedom. The essay discusses the risks arising from its intertwining with security logics and models of majority belonging. In the meantime, it also highlights the potential of vivre ensemble if it is reinterpreted in relational terms as a principle capable of promoting democratic coexistence and allowing people to “live together as different”. Finally, the study assesses whether vivre ensemble can be considered an emerging legal principle of European religious law, and the conditions necessary for its use to be compatible with pluralism and in full compliance with Article 9 of the ECHR.